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Resaw jig from WOOD mag.

04-24-2007, 08:58 PM

OK guy's, I just finished making the jig for resawing logs into lumber that was in WOOD mag. Not too bad if I say so myself. The only problem is the riser for the BS is still in the mail. Shipped out yesterday. I sure hope the Grizzly riser works on the my Ridgid BS like some of you say. Now I'm eyeballing the neighbors front yard tree. Kidding. I will let you all know how the new jig works out in a few day's after the riser comes in.

My Rikon 10-325 BS with an auxiliary table mounted and the lumber mill jig. I added a 3/8-16 threaded rod to advance the fence and lock it down in place of the method they were using in the magazine article. Now I can consistently get 1/16" or any thickness slices with just a turn or two, no measuring needed. The extended table surface lets me use one hand to guide the jig, the weight is fully supported even with a 38" long log section mounted. I am also working on a crude (but so far effective) self feed mechanism. I've made some cuts with it but need to tweak it a bit to allow greater adjustment range of feed pressure.

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OK guy's, I just finished making the jig for resawing logs into lumber that was in WOOD mag. Not too bad if I say so myself. The only problem is the riser for the BS is still in the mail. Shipped out yesterday. I sure hope the Grizzly riser works on the my Ridgid BS like some of you say. Now I'm eyeballing the neighbors front yard tree. Kidding. I will let you all know how the new jig works out in a few day's after the riser comes in.

I haven't made the jig yet but I have been cutting some juniper firewood into small pieces of lumber. I too am eyeing my neighbors tree but his is a standing dead apple tree. I would love to give that wood a try.

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Bob, would you share your method of installing the threaded rod, please. I've planned to do that and you could save me some time. I'm going to build another jig longer than the plan, for the reason you stated, longer stock, also infeed/outfeed tables with miter slots.
That 10-325 is one sweet bandsaw isn't it? I can't get over how it eats 10-12" stock without a whimper.

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just what i was looking for as i have been working on something to support a few smaller pieces of cherry and walnut that need resawing... though I doubt it'll work well for those three 400 lb logs of black walnut on the pallet outside the shop... they might need to visit the amish sawmill down the road for some quick slicing...

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If you look at the photo I posted with the jig you can see the mod I made. I added two brackets, one is attached to the fence part of the jig (the movable part), and the other to the sled or base piece. I aligned the bracket with the slot cut for the lock screw. If I was building from scratch I would have repositioned the lock screw and modified the fence piece from the original WOOD design. But I already had the thing fabbed per the drawing and tried that our then decided on adding the hand crank and rod.

In the photo above you can see the fence drawn back a couple inches and see how the bracket runs in the same slot in the fence as the lock screw. I chose 3/8-16 rod so each revolution of the hand crank moves the fence 1/16", makes it easy to make repeat cuts.

If you look at the photo in my first post you will see two 3/8 nuts jambed together to create a stop. These are adjusted so the fence can not be advanced closer than 13/16" to the blade, that way your lag screws holding the log on the jig can penetrate into the log 3/4" and not hit the blade which would be expensive.

I made my extended table about 2'W x 4'L, with 24" in front of the blade and 24" behind. This gives plenty of support to the jig when loaded with a heavy log. I place a stand (a RIDGID FlipTop stand will work fine) under each end of the table to support the weight when handling heavy pieces.

So what you need to do is setup the brackets so one is attached to the base and the other to the fence. Then when you crank the handle the fence will move in or out, its a pretty simple setup. I made the brakets from some 1/4" aluminum angle I had laying around, the piece of rod was a 12" scrap, the handle I had from a previous jig which I no longer need.

Yeah, the BS was a good choice I think when you look at all the time and extra cash you have to shell out to get the other 14" BSs to equal its capabilities. Hardest part of assembly was getting the saw up on the pedestal by myself, it's about 250# IIRC.

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Thanks Bob, I appreciate it.
You are right about the assembly. I had planned to use a come-a-long but my ceilings were too low. I had to admire mine sitting on the shop floor for over 24 hours till a couple of strong friends could get by to help.

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I was looking a bandsaws the other day, and was impressed with the resaw capabiltiy of the Rikon. The store rep said that the table has lousy supports, tho and wasn't stable. What are your thoughts as actually owner/users?

Go

Practicing at practical wood working

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I was looking a bandsaws the other day, and was impressed with the resaw capabiltiy of the Rikon. The store rep said that the table has lousy supports, tho and wasn't stable. What are your thoughts as actually owner/users?

Go

I don't agree with that at all. Unlike most other BS's it has rack and pinion adjustment, which is new to folks, but it's very stable. It is attached to the trunion with 4 ~8mm bolts. I think if it had any stability issues I would have noticed it when resawing the 10" + cherry and the 10" 4 ft. long cedar below.
Actually, the folks where I bought mine were leading me toward a Powermatic with riser but I read too many reports of alignment problems with the PM/riser. I contacted WMH who confirmed that there is an issue. Something in my gut says maybe retailers are getting more $$$ per unit with other brands than Rikon.

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I don't find the stability of the table any worse than other 14" BSs, but I don't think it has anything over the others either. I've seen better setups but not in this price range. I too have had some fairly heavy pieces of lumber on my table without a problem, and with the expanded table I built which has support from stands at both the front and rear it's not a concern at all.

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KenM and Bob D: Thanks for the replies. As I am mainly looking for resaw use, the need for additional support regardless of the saw is a very pertinent point. Right now, the Delta has a pretty good track record and it with the riser is less money. One model also has dual speed capability, which for the horsepower might mean less stress at the lower speed. (any comments on that assumption?? If I am way off base please say so). I am looking to be able to resaw 8 - 9" wide lumber. If it takes longer, but the machine and blades last longer, I can live with that. I know a 2 - 3 hp that would hold a 1 1/2" blade is better for resaw, but with the power I have available, and the costs, I cannot justify that.

Go

Practicing at practical wood working

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The Delta may well do all that you need. The important thing is for you to get the saw that satisfies you. As for the dual speed, the recommended speed for wood BS's is around 3,000 SFM, I suspect the dual speed thing is so you could cut metal also.
I'll not try to push the Rikon on anyone but there are some considerations. The Rikon 10-325 is around $750, which is pricey. However it and other saws in it's price range include some items that have to be added to saws in the 14" Delta class. Some do indeed help with resawing, others are for convenience:

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I purchased the Rikon 10-325 to resaw green soft maple logs. I've had the time to run only a couple of slabs through the machine, but I had no real problems, other than the motor won't start when the shop temperature is below 40 degrees. The slabs are 4 1/2" thick and up to 18" wide. I'm going to build a table and resaw fixture to allow slabbing out 4/4 lumber up to 12" wide.

I want to thank everyone who has commented in this thread, gives me good ideas!